Different Pieces, Same Game
by Hershey Ride
Summary: Rewrite of 'Red Like Autobots...Wait WHAT' Written Post V3, Pre-V4. When Jack, Miko, and Raf are rescued from MECH by a mysterious woman in a red cloak, the Autobots don't know what to think. MECH is becoming more dangerous, finding a new advantage in Dust, and one Ruby Rose will not stand for it. Foes are returning from the shadows, and threats thought dead are not so.
1. Chapter 1: Mystery Debut

**So, here's the rewrite of my other story. It's going to be different, certain things will be reworked due to the Volume 3 ending. I hope you guys enjoy this one as much as the other one.**

 _ **Transformers Prime**_ **belongs to Hasbro.**

 _ **RWBY**_ **belongs to Roosterteeth.**

* * *

Machines hummed throughout a large warehouse. Jack, Miko, and Raf sat handcuffed in the middle of a spotlight in the center of the warehouse, handcuffs wrapped in a way that wove them together. On one end of the warehouse several MECH soldiers stood at their stations in front of a large monitoring a large computer screen displaying the surrounding Nevada desert in shades of blue, with five glowing red dots closing in from the northwest.

"It won't be long now," Silas Bishop, the sinister, scar faced MECH leader coldly taunted the children. The bone chilling smirk made his scars stretch strangely. "Once the Autobots attempt their futile rescue, it will be too easy to overpower them."

Electricity lit up all around the kids as guards that stood at intervals around the interior charged electricity blasters. The electricity crackled and arched, making the kids' hair stand on end.

"Jack," Miko whispered. "What do we do!?"

Jack frowned, nose scrunching lightly and eyes squinting as he struggled to think of a plan.

"I...I don't know..." Jack said finally. "Let's hope the Bots can outwit them."

* * *

Miles away, a lone figure walked towards the edge of a large mesa. The full moon illuminated the bright red of the figure's cloak. The hood obscured the person's face, and the cloak covered their body completely. The torn edges ghosted over the desert dirt. A supernatural wind carried a storm of red rose petals into the wind. A silver rose pin proudly gleamed on the left side of the cape.

A distant roar made the figure look to the northwest, seeing the distant headlights of five vehicles powering toward the equally distant warehouse. The figure huffed and shrugged the cloak to the side, pulling a device from their back. The device elongated and unfolded until a seven foot tall scythe reflected the bright moonlight. The storm of rose petals became more dense as the figure jumped twelve feet into the air in a corkscrew and became a blur as they sped toward the warehouse far faster than the five vehicles could ever dream of achieving.

* * *

Within seconds the scythe wielder appeared at the warehouse, sliver eyes widened under the red fabric at the sight of the three hostages in the center of the warehouse. The figure growled and vanished again, reappearing silently inside the warehouse's shadows.

A guard standing nearby noticed the drifting red petals and spun sharply to face the red cloaked figure. Within a split second, the cloaked woman had swung the butt end of the weapon into the guard's head sending him flying into another guard, who dropped his weapon with a loud _bang._ The silence seemed to deepen even more before Silas' steel voice sliced through it like a knife.

"Who's there?"

The figure growled at the sound of Silas' voice, chambering a round in the rifle portion of the scythe. With another burst of rose petals, the reaper sped around the warehouse, knocking out any guard and destroying any equipment open to destruction. From the center of the warehouse, the kids watched the reaper speed around, blade glinting in the fluorescent lights above.

"What's that?" Raf wondered. Their presumed savior was moving almost to fast for his eyes to catch, especially with his poor eyesight.

"Too small to be one of the Bots," Jack stated. "And none of them are red and send _whatever these are_ everywhere."

One of the rose petals landed on his bangs and dangled in front of his eyes. He squinted at it, feeling something familiar in his gut. Like he'd seen a similar display before. Before he could dwell on it any further, the rose petal faded until it was like it was never there at all.

"I bet one of the guards got a hold of a Ouija board," Miko snickered. "Summoned something they shouldn't've."

"Miko there's no such thing as spirits or ghosts," Raf frowned. "Those are just fiction."

"So?" Miko retorted. "Ever seen a ghost?"

"Miko," Jack warned. The blur of red suddenly encircled them, spinning around them in a tornado that made them rise off the ground. In a quick slice, the cuffs' broken chain links fell to the ground as the blur suddenly stopped between them and a thoroughly angered Silas. Raf whimpered and slid slightly behind Jack at the sight of a weapon almost twice his height; meanwhile Miko was practically vibrating in place at the same sight. Their savior's cloak billowed to a supernatural wind, allowing the rest of the figure to be seen in full view.

She was a full grown woman, wearing a white blouse with puffy sleeves and brown leather straps, a black skirt, a black and red corset, a black belt bordered in red, black leggings with an image of a long stem rose, and black boots with red soles and four silver buckles each. The hood remained up, obscuring her face, but the strange rose pin reflected a little of her pale skin. A small part of hair fell from her right side, starting black and ending red.

"Who are you?" Silas demanded, fire in his eyes. The Red Woman didn't say anything in response, opting instead to chamber another round in the rifle and pointing it at the taller man. Silas' face warped in rage. He pulled his own energy blaster from behind his back and charged it with one swift motion. "Tell me now and you might live."

The woman didn't reply. In a spit second she was behind him, the curve of the scythe's blade against his neck. The kids jumped back, with Jack shielding the Miko and Raf behind him. The woman leaned in and whispered in a deadly tone in Silas' ear.

"One wrong move and your head will be wrenched from your body before you can say 'death.'" Silas' eyes narrowed as she spoke. He recognized her voice.

"You wouldn't dare," Silas spat. He leveled the blaster to her head. Red Cloak didn't flinch. She planted a boot on his back, pushing him even closer to the blade.

"I don't care what monsters like you think I would do or wouldn't do," She whispered.

Jack squinted, straining to hear. He knew she was speaking, but couldn't make out her voice. Five sets of headlights lit up the back wall of the warehouse as the Autobots pulled up. All five transformed and the hum of weapons filled the air.

"Children," Optimus addressed them. "Stand back."

The trio turned and ran out of the warehouse, ducking behind the doors. Silas growled and turned the gun on the fleeing children. Red Cloak's eyes widened and then morphed into anger. She fired a shot and used the recoil to nail Silas in the head, sending him crashing into a stack of crates, which splintered and tumbled onto him.

The bots' optics widened as Red Cloak chambered another round, ready to fire should Silas try to attack.

"Who's she?" Bulkhead asked the children. Red Cloak heard Jack say something in reply but ignored it, favoring scanning the area for Silas in case he snuck around to attack her from behind. She spun around, looking over the destroyed machinery.

"Whoever she is," Arcee stated. "I don't trust her. No human just runs around with a weapon. Especially one like **that**."

Red Cloak again ignored the comment, finding an interest in a glowing piece of white crystal laying in a container on the computer's console.

"She does not appear to be a threat to us," Optimus observed. Red Cloak finally acknowledged them by spinning to face them and speeding over to the door. The Bots jumped back in surprise, but didn't fire their weapons. Optimus knelt down to the woman's level. "I must thank you, Mysterious Red Woman, for saving our human charges."

Red Cloak curtsied, much to the confusion of the Bots, who didn't know what a curtsey was. She collapsed her scythe back into it's compact form and stowed it behind her back before vanishing in a flurry of rose petals.

* * *

Red Cloak watched from behind a mesa as Team Prime pulled into their base, children in tow. As the door closed, she pulled down her hood. At her waist, her Scroll went off. She expanded the device and put it to her ear.

 _"Ruby,"_ A confident female said. _"We saw you leave your house in a hurry. Everything alright?"_

"No," Ruby said. "I found an evil man holding three kids hostage. That's not the worst part though."

 _"Then what is it?"_

"He had a piece of Dust with him. And not a naturally forming one either," Ruby said. She pulled the Ice Dust from the pack on her back. "It's a piece of Ice Dust the length of my hand, if not slightly bigger."

 _"Dust is rare in these parts altogether,"_ The female on the other end thought aloud. _"Whoever the man was, he must be either getting shipments from someone in Remnant or..."_

"Or he's figured out how to manufacture Dust," Ruby finished. "Coco, this is bad. The man is a terrorist. He believes in a new world order achieved through the use of the most advanced technology. If he has Dust..."

 _"Then who knows what he has planned."_

* * *

 ** _Hey...sorry about the wait. If you liked this new version, leave a review. Unfortunately, the previous version got to chaotic and I didn't like how it was going (esp. with Volume 3's ending)._**

 ** _Thanks for the support._**


	2. Chapter 2: The Mystery Deepens

**Hi everyone! Here's chapter two.**

 **I'm just going to say _Transformers Prime_ and _RWBY_ are not mine.**

 **Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Jack sat in his history class, slouching in his desk (which Miko had nicknamed "The Main Character desk" due to it's location in the second to last row and right next to the window), hearing but not listening to the lecture from a boisterous, overweight middle-age woman that taught the class. He wouldn't regret it, since most of her "lectures" were just "I knew a guy who..." stories that only connected for one second with the topic at hand.

Instead, Jack's focus was on the open notebook in front of him. It was a new one, reasonably thick, spiral bound with a gray cover. There were already about ten pages filled front and back, the eleventh with two drawings. The first was the cloaked woman who'd saved him, Raf and Miko from Silas three days before. It was a rough sketch of her, red tattered cloak giving off red petals drawn only in red pen and lightly colored in with the same pen. The second sketch was her weapon, drawn in the similar fashion with red, silver, and black pens. He'd scrawled notes on the side.

 _What I Know On Red Cloak_

 _\- Adult (Mom's age?)_

 _\- Black hair that turns red at the ends (wig? dye?)_

 _\- tattered cloak (hermit?)_

 _\- Took out all the guards & Silas (some form of secret agent? assassin?)_

 _\- Didn't kill, despite having the opening to (ordered to take out ME**?)_

 _\- Polite (curtsied to O.P.)_

 _\- Accurate w/ weapon_

 _\- Silver Rose pin holds cloak together_

 _\- Weapon is a combination Scythe and what looks like a sniper rifle (foreign?)_

 _\- Weapon can collapse into a smaller size for travel (nomad assassin?)_

 _\- Silent, seems to be able to talk, just didn't want to (gag order?)_

 _\- Super fast (mutant?)_

 _\- Created a tornado of rose petals capable of lifting us up_

 _\- Wasn't scarred of the B*** (knew of them?)_

Next to the list he drew what he little bit remembered from the woman's rose pin. He censored certain parts of the list should it fall into someone else's hands. Jack huffed and ran a hand through his black locks. _'Bangs are getting long again,'_ He thought. _'I'll need to cut them soon.'_

The bell rang and everyone practically bolted out of the room. Jack was one of the last ones out. As he passed by the front row, he noticed a red covered notebook laying on the floor. He shrugged and picked it up, brushing the dirt off the cover. Confused as to how the notebook had caught his attention, Jack walked out to the courtyard for lunch. He sat underneath a tree farthest from any other student.

 _'I shouldn't look in it. It's probably someone's journal or something,'_ He thought. _'Then again, it **might** just be a history notebook.'_

He weighed the choices as he ate his sandwich. Finally deciding to read it, he flipped it open to the last written page. A large drawing sat in the center. It was a circle with a spear drawn through it. Around it were several other symbols. A flaming heart; a hammer with a lightning bolt; a lotus flower; a snowflake; a group of gears; two crescents one above the other; a crown; something resembling a sword; a flower like design; and...

Jack dropped the book.

An exact copy of Red Cloak's symbol sat amongst all the others. The spear lacked a name, but the rest had a name written in next to them. Yang. Nora. Ren. Weiss. Professor Ozpin. Jaune. Professor Goodwitch. Penny. Blake. Ruby. Written below it was a single phrase in red cursive.

 _Do you believe in destiny?_

* * *

Ruby sat in the café, palms sweaty. She only had twenty minutes to meet with Coco. It would be their first face-to-face meeting in daylight in years. The café's bell chimed as the door opened. Silver eyes sprung up to see a familiar self-assured smile as Coco strutted over and slid into the booth.

"Hi," Ruby greeted.

"Hey little red," Coco smirked. Ruby pouted adorably.

"I'm not that little anymore," She pouted. Coco laughed at how little it looked like Ruby had changed sometimes. Within seconds that younger Ruby was gone, replaced by the powerful woman she'd grown into. "Let's get down to business."

She pulled a thick folder from the bag at her side and slid it over to Coco. The older woman flipped through the files, trained eyes pulling information from the documents.

"This is some pretty classified stuff," She finally said, looking up at Ruby. "How'd you get these? I don't even think my youngest son could get stuff like this, and he's skipped several grades."

 _'He can do more than you realize,'_ Ruby thought. She swallowed before replying slyly, "I have my ways. This is serious Coco. Silas is a danger. To everything we've worked for."

Coco nodded. She looked over her shoulder to see if anyone was watching before pulling out her Scroll and expanding it. In it was a map of Jasper with the symbols of every available Huntsmen or Huntress. Only four appeared on the map, the two of them at the café, Coco's husband Fox at his work, and one Cardin Winchester at the auto repair shop where he worked. Several other dots moved around, marking family members.

Ruby's eyes drifted to the three at Jasper High School. Cardin's son, Coco's youngest son, and Ruby's own son. She stared at the silver colored dot that represented her son. She'd do it for him. Everything she did was so that he'd have a better place to live. His father had sacrificed himself for the same reason.

"Okay," Coco began. "We have one team worth of Huntsmen power. According to the documents you got, we have about six different locations for potential MECH bases. It's an unequal balance, so we'll have to solo four and partner for two."

Ruby looked over the six locations. The Autobots could show up at any of them, especially since they had a bone to pick with Silas. And if the Autobots showed up, the three children were never far behind. Always reckless, always unarmed. God it made Ruby want to scream sometimes!

"Alright, I'll stake out these ones," She pointed to two. "Just to see if they're not duds."

"Fox and I'll check out this one," Coco pointed to another one. "I'll scout this one later."

Coco's cell phone went off and she pulled it out of her non-gun purse. With a flick of her manicured nail, she flipped it open.

"Hello?...She did?...Oh she is in **SO** much trouble when she gets home...alright love you to babe...bye." She shut the phone before pulling herself from the booth. "Sorry to cut this short Ruby, Pilar was just caught peeking in the boys' locker room at her school. Got herself suspended."

"Oooo," Ruby teased. "She's taking after you."

Coco scoffed, "She doesn't bother with the fashion traits and goes straight for the boys."

The brunette smiled and waved goodbye as Ruby packed up her things. As Ruby walked back into the Jasper daylight, she looked to the direction of the high school. Pilar was in for it, not that it wasn't something Coco herself had done at Beacon before the Fall. As Ruby walked to her car, she saw a familiar blue and pink motorcycle drive by, leather clad driver 'gripping' the handlebars. She took a deep breath and let it out. She had other things to worry about.

* * *

Later that night, as her son slept below, Ruby popped open a secret panel in the wall of the attic. She slipped inside and turned on the light. The dusty blub lit up weakly as it cast shadows behind old memories that hadn't seen the light of day in years.

She was hunched over due to her attic being very short in terms of height, but it didn't bother her too much. She shoved and pulled boxes around until she found the box she was looking for. This one was slightly newer than the others and labeled _'John'_ with thick black marker. She pulled a box cutter from her jeans and slit the tape with a few quick slices. Her thin hands pulled the flaps away.

Inside rested photo albums, an old black and orange hoodie, an old comic book, a bundle wrapped in cloth and other miscellaneous items. She pulled the hoodie from its place in the box and unfolded it; she held the hoodie to her body, inhaling what little scent still remained of him.

"Almost fourteen years since he left," Ruby muttered, wiping a stray tear away from her silver eyes. She folded the hoodie back up and returned it to it's place in the box. She pulled the bundle out of the box before folding the flaps of the box back up and crawling out of the secret room. Silently, she replaced the panel and descended to the main level of the house. Her trained ears picked up her son's light snoring in his room off to her right. Slowly, she nudged the door open to her son's room, peering in at his sleeping form.

He didn't know her past, or her current activities. Ruby liked that. The less he knew, the better. No matter how bad she wanted to unlock his Aura, he'd question his newfound Semblance. It would make him a target. She'd lost too many people she loved, she didn't need him to be a target too.

She softly shut the door, returning his room to the night. Ruby headed across the hall to her room, where she changed from her jeans and red V-neck into her blouse, corset, and skirt. As she pulled her boots on, she heard her son roll over in his room. A sigh escaped her lips as her eyes caught her reflection in the full-length mirror.

It was like she was an imposter in her own life. Either way she looked like she was trying to be the other side. A stranger in her own clothes. Ruby sighed and activated her aura. The red glow surrounded her and the color slowly crept up her black locks. She pulled it from it's ponytail and scrunched up her eyes. When she opened them, pools of silver stared back.

"There. Much better," Ruby said.

She walked over to the other side of the bed and pushed the nightstand to the side. Her trained eyes found the hairline seams in the wall. With a press to the top right corner the wall popped off and swung on a hinge.

Within the wall was a small armory, with stacks upon stacks of magazines of varying Dust types, cleaning equipment, extra Dust, and the crown jewel itself; Crescent Rose laid at a slight angle, red finish gleaming. Ruby pulled the beloved weapon from it's hiding place and slid it into it's place on her belt. She pulled her pouch from her back and filled it with several magazines. After sliding it back onto her back, Ruby shut the panel and left her room with a flick of the light switch.

* * *

Arcee sat in vehicle mode in the garage of the Darby household, unable to rest. The kids' abduction by MECH three days before had left her shaken. The mysterious human woman that showed up bothered the blue femme to no end. Not only had the woman (who they'd all taken to calling 'Red Cloak' for obvious reasons) showed up from nowhere, knocked out all of Silas' guards and Silas himself, and vanished without identifying herself, but she exuded an aura of danger.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by the front door of the house opening and closing. Arcee transformed as quickly and silently as she could, peering out of the small windows of the garage door. Her blue-pink optics widened at what she saw.

Red Cloak stood in the middle of the street, head bowed, cape waving to a non-existent wind. The red rose petals glowed in the moonlight as the swirled around her. Neither one moved, waiting for the other to do so.

After at least two minutes of stalemate, Red Cloak turned and sped off down the road. Without a second thought, Arcee opened the garage door, transformed and pulled out after her.

Arcee didn't care where Red Cloak was going, but if she led her to more information, it'd be worth it.

* * *

 **Okay...slightly longer chapter. I'm trying to build up suspense, so sorry if things seem weird.**

 **Review if you liked, review if you don't.** **Thank you all for reading.**


	3. Chapter 3: Another Player Enters

**So who else is going to see RWBY Volume 2 in theaters on July 27th? Cause I am! And cosplaying Ruby too!**

 **Also, italics are thoughts/dreams. _This_ _represents the person from the 2nd person P.O.V. in the italics sequence, since there are WAY too many 'She's in this._**

 **I also don't own _RWBY_ or _Transformers Prime._**

* * *

Arcee's motor revved as she pursued Red Cloak through the deserted streets of Jasper. She had no problem breaking the speed limit, due to it being past midnight and no sane human would be up that late at night (though June had been known to work night shifts during heavy patient loads at the hospital). Red Cloak sprinted ahead of her, cloak and swirling standing out in the dark night.

 _'I've seen her go faster than this,'_ The thought popped Arcee's processor. _'She knows I'm following her, she **wants** me to follow her.'_

The blue femme shifted into higher gear and closed the gap from a semi truck length away to two cars worth. Red Cloak seemed to shake her head, though it was hard to be sure with the wind rippling through the fabric. The two turned a corner and the buildings grew sparser and sparser until Arcee spotted the _'Now leaving Jasper_ _'_ sign as they passed it. They carried on in their chase for several more minutes.

Just as she was beginning to think Red Cloak was leading her on a wild goose chase, the woman turned and vanished in between a large wall of rock. Arcee followed, ready to transform at a moments notice.

The gap in the rock wall opened to a large clearing almost three miles long, rock walls jutting up almost two. The ground was hard packed dirt, with small groups of rock near the walls. However, those were hard to see due to the waves of solid black figures that surrounded them. The creatures resembled wolves, bears, birds, and other animals, but were made of solid black, with white bone plating with glowing red and orange designs on them. The creatures loomed closer to the two, howling, growling, cawing and roaring as they prepared to attack.

Red Cloak stopped suddenly, forcing Arcee to brake so hard her brake pads squealed to avoid hitting her.

"Get ready Arcee." Her mirrors jolted at the sound of her name. No one outside the group knew her name, she didn't even have her holographic driver on. The voice rang with familiarity, but it felt like it was being altered. Like whoever spoke didn't want to be recognized.

With a jolt, Arcee transformed into bipedal mode. The creatures seemed to get more energized at this, their roars increased, and they glowed with power. Arcee looked to Red Cloak, who had her weapon out in full scythe form, ready to fight. The human was staring at her, gradient hair covering her face to the point that Arcee's advanced optics couldn't make out her face.

"How...?" Arcee trailed off.

"Don't worry about it," Red Cloak's tone was short. She didn't want to talk too much. "They're about to attack."

Arcee activated her blasters, eyeing the bird creatures above them. The beasts roared and charged them. Arcee open fired on them, acutely aware of Red Cloak covering her back.

The two females fought against the oncoming hoards of creatures, who bared down on them, confident that their sheer number could overwhelm the blue Cybertronian. Red Cloak sped around, darting between Arcee's legs before the femme even realized and slashing at the creatures that got too close. The two worked in tandem, waves of creatures falling to their weapons.

After the last one fell with a _bang_ , Arcee spun in anticipation of another wave but saw none left. She deactivated her weapons and turned to Red Cloak.

"Alright explain yourself," Arcee demanded. Red Cloak frowned and shook her head. "Why!?"

"To protect," Red Cloak stated.

"Protect who!?" Arcee exclaimed, anger seeping into her voice. Her servos clenched into fists and her optics narrowed.

"Him."

"Who!?"

A sound chirped from Red Cloak's belt, catching her attention. She pulled out a small rectangular metal device. With a simple flick, the two metal halves separated, revealing a screen the size of a smart phone. A message appeared, saying something Arcee couldn't make out. Red Cloak typed a response before bowing to Arcee. The familiar act reminded her of what Red Cloak did last time they'd met.

"Wait-!" She exclaimed, reaching out to Red Cloak, but the human disappeared in a burst of rose petals. Arcee's optics narrowed and she growled in anger. The femme looked around, noting the still dissolving bodies of the creatures.

 _'No use sticking around here,'_ She thought, transforming and driving back out to Jasper. _'Can't believe she got away.'_

* * *

Ruby slid to a stop in front of a middle class home. It was two stories, with tan siding and dark brown accents. A blue car with flames painted on it sat in one side of the two-car garage, door left open for the whole world to see.

"God, that kid's just waiting to be robbed," Ruby muttered. She walked past the garage to the gate that led to the side yard.

The backyard was covered in thick green grass, beautifully watered despite the desert heat. A shed sat in the corner opposite the gate, a stone patio jutting off the back of the house. The house clearly showed that the owners had money to spare, unlike her, who could barely get time off.

On the stone patio was a metal table with a glass tabletop, surrounded by four chairs of the same metal and cushions. A large stainless steel grill sat on the far side of the patio. Three of the four chairs were occupied, the first by a tall man with burnt orange hair and indigo eyes. The next was occupied by Coco's husband Fox. Coco herself sat in the third seat, waving to Ruby as she walked over. Ruby slid into the seat with a small wave to the others.

"Got lost on your way over?" Coco asked cheekily.

" _Tch_ , I wish it was that simple," Ruby replied. "I had a tail. Led her out beyond the city limits. Ducked into a ravine only to find hordes of _Grimm_."

The goosebumps rose on the other three at the word. The comfortable atmosphere was shattered, none of them moved. For a second Ruby thought they'd all been petrified.

"I thought we destroyed them all after Salem was defeated and we reclaimed Beacon," Fox spoke up.

"If the Grimm are back..." Coco trailed off.

"Then we're screwed!" Cardin exclaimed. Ruby shushed him.

"Do you want to wake your kid!?" She gritted out, hearing shifting in the open window above them. After a few minutes of silence, they resumed their conversation.

"This is ridiculous!" Cardin replied. "Almost sixteen years of pure peace and now this!"

Ruby looked down and put her hand to her chin as she thought aloud, "First a 'new world order' terrorist group somehow gets a hold of synthetically combined Dust. Then, Grimm appear. We saw the events that lead to the War, we were all there. This seems to be the precursors to something similar."

"Different players..." Coco said, while Fox finished,

"Same game." Ruby nodded at the couple's remarks.

"Even worse," She continued. "This 'new world order' goes by the name of MECH. They seem absolutely despicable. Even captured kids to use as bait. They also have some impressive enemies."

If anyone heard the slightly prideful tone in Ruby's voice, they didn't comment. They were all lost in their own thoughts.

"I met with Coco earlier. We decided it'd be a good idea to get a head start on taking MECH out." With a flick she expanded her Scroll to show the map she'd assembled, showing each MECH facility. "We'll split up. Some bases will be partner attacks, while a few are solo. Are you in?"

The three nodded.

"We can't have what happened in Remnant happen here," Cardin said. "The nations aren't tied like they are back home. And they're not bound by the limits of the CCT. If something big happens, the entire planet could know in less than a day."

"Then let's do this," Coco said. "Take out MECH, destroy the Grimm once and for all, and do it before anyone is the wiser."

* * *

 _A loud, glee-filled laughter fills the air of a mess of a dining hall. Tables were piled into a large mountain as four people stand around it. A blond boy stands at the base, while a raven haired boy with a magenta streak in his hair stands on the other side, She herself stands much higher, while the tallest table is commandeered by the laughing ginger who chants,_

 _"I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!"_

 _A stomp rings out as a girl with a red cloak and gradient hair slams her foot down, squeezing a milk carton in her fist, pointing at them in challenge._

 _"Justice will be swift! Justice will be painful! It will be DELICIOUS!" She yells, raising her fist into the air as a white haired girl, a ravenette, and a blonde cheer in agreement behind her._

 _"Off with their heads!" The ginger yells. They jump down and launch watermelons at the four girls._

 _The cloaked girl yells to the blonde, "Yang, turkey!"_

 _The busty blonde charged forward, flipped and shoved her hands into two whole turkeys, wielding each one like a boxing glove. She slammed the two together, causing a small force wave before destroying each watermelon as it reached her._

 _The dark haired girl flips over the blonde and grabs two baguettes, working in tandem with the blonde to destroy more watermelons. Yang fires her turkey fists at H er. _

_She flips out of the way, while the blond next to H er takes the blow. She looks up and leaps back as the ravenette leaps down with her baguette swords. She swings her own and the three baguettes connect in a stalemate. She breaks the stalemate and swings at the other girl, who jumps leaving a shadow duplicate in her place and lands behind Her. She spins around and they swing at each other and dodge the others blows, until the ravenette uses her shadows again to leap into the air and fire one of the baguettes at Her. She slides back to avoid the projectile and leaps forward to jab at Her opponent, sending her flying. A flip of the wrist and She throws the remaining baguette like a spear. _

_Yang, now standing on a table, kicks the baguettes, destroying them, until she misses one and it knocks her down. The caped girl- the name Ruby pops into H er head- kickflips onto the tables and slides down the tables using a lunch tray as a board. She throws more baguettes, but Ruby leaps into the air and uses the tray to bat a baguette back at her. She dodges, only to block a blow from Ruby's tray, as the shorter girl pushes off Her, sending Her flying back. She hears Her friends rush forward to the Ruby and the others. _

_She sees the ginger using a melon and flag pole as a hammer to send the white haired girl- Weiss- flying. She crashes into a pillar and Ruby catches her, begging her not to leave her. _

_Yang leaps over the two and grabs her two turkeys again as the black haired boy, Ren, leaps over a table and grabs two leeks. The two charge at each other and meet at a stalemate for a few tense seconds before an intense round of hand-to-hand breaks out. The fight takes to the air and Yang sends Ren crashing into the floor with a shockwave._

 _Hammer girl, Nora She remembers, then jumps in, charging at her and using her hammer to send Yang through the roof- literally. _

_As pieces of the roof crash down, the ravenette, Blake, flips out of the way and grabs a long chain of sausage links, twirling them and sending Nora crashing into a Dr. Piper and a People Like Grapes soda machine. The cans spill out of the busted machines and Nora begins hurling them at Blake, where they explode into plumes of soda. As She rises into a kneeling position, She stabs a hand into the ground, magnetizing all the soda cans and making them levitate. With a simple gesture She sends them forward, bombarding Blake and knocking her off balance. Another gesture sends the cans weaving around Her to push Blake into and eventually though the rafters._

 _Ruby looks above her as her friend crashes down. She turns to them, assumes a runners pose, and speeds towards them. The slipstream that results catches every piece of debris, trailing behind her as she begins spinning passes Jaune and Ren first, then Her and Nora second. All four are caught in the spiraling hurricane and become pinned to the wall. The debris comes crashing into them, covering them in food and soda until they resemble a modern art piece more than students. _

_Slowly they slide off and a severe looking woman comes in, restoring everything to its' proper place. She, Jaune, Ren and Nora laugh with Ruby, Weiss and Blake, pausing for a moment when Yang comes crashing back down, creating a giant crater. After a moment of silence, they all start laughing harder than before as the blonde smiles and gives them a thumbs up. She feels like Her chest will burst in happiness and She wishes the feeling would never end._

 _The scene changes from vibrant and happy to cold and hopeless as She feels a blinding pain strike Her ankle. She cries out and falls to Her knees. As She tries to pull herself to Her feet, the pain flares and both ends of the arrow fall off, leaving the shaft of the arrow in her ankle._

 _"It's unfortunate that you were promised a power that was never truly yours," A dark haired woman in a red and gold dress coldly says, lifting Her chin to make eye contact and smiling. "But take comfort knowing that **I** will use it in ways you could never have imagined."_

 _She pulls away and keeps eye contact, saying, "Do you believe in destiny?"_

 _The cold woman frowns, tears in her eyes as they narrow. "Yes."_

 _The woman stands up and holds her hands above her head, forming an obsidian bow and arrow. She levels the weapon at Her. She closes her eyes, accepting the fate. A twang splits the air as the arrow plants itself in the very center of her chest. The pain explodes and She gasps in pain, holding a hand to the wound, red light pouring from it. The red clad woman approaches her and places a hand on the Her head._

 _The hand flashes unbearably hot, her body seizes up, tearing sound and movement from her control. Her body is engulfed in an orange glow as she scatters as embers. She exists for another moment, before what's left of her consciousness is engulfed in a white light as a voice she recognizes as belonging to her red cloaked friend screams,_

 ** _"PYRRHAAAAAA!"_**

She bolted up in bed, vibrant green eyes practically glowing in the moonlight that streamed in from her window. Red hair tumbled over her shoulders, not confined to a ponytail like it was during daytime hours. Her heart felt like it was beating a thousand times a second. Her eyes wandered over to the clock and groaned.

"Two in the morning," She whispered, not wanting to wake anyone else in the house. She slowly climbed out of bed. The thought of sleep didn't seem so appealing anymore.

She slowly padded over to the laptop that sat on her desk and flicked on the lamp next to it. It was a really nice one, with a metallic, burnt red top, and had been a gift from her parents for her birthday the year before.

The red-head opened the laptop, wincing at the more intense light. Her fingers subconsciously typed in her password. As the laptop loaded, she leaned back in the dark red swivel chair, running a hand though her vibrant red hair, wincing when her fingers found a stray knot. She'd been especially stressed out earlier, since she'd lost a very precious journal at school and couldn't find it anywhere.

"Maybe I should ask around," She muttered to herself. "Or put out an award or something for whoever finds it and gives it back."

Once her laptop finished loading, revealing the red spear-and-shield symbol that was her background. She pulled up a blank document and began typing, fingers working on auto-pilot as she recalled what she could about the dream. All the while her mind was reeling.

The first part was fun, she felt like she belonged with them. Like she knew them, despite never meeting them. She wanted to know them. They felt familiar, like she met them when she was awake.

Her hands found a spot on her left ankle and the center of her chest, covering the marks that had been there from the day she was born. They weren't the birthmarks other people had, which were circular and darker than their skin tones. Hers were like scars, pale and almost milky looking against her otherwise blemish-less skin. No one, not even the doctors or her parents could explain how she got them.

She looked back up at her computer, pulling up an image of the Greek legend Achilles. Vivid green eyes scanned every inch of the image, eyeing the flaws in the man's posture, the state of his weapons ("No weapons should be **that** shiny unless they were for pure show," she muttered), to the flaws in his armor (invincible or not no one should be so exposed in battle). She never figured out how she knew those types of things, despite searching for years.

The red head closed her eyes as she sighed, rubbing her temples. The dreams and scars often made her head hurt. Just as she was about to enter another search, she heard a sound, like someone slamming their hands down on a table, a few houses down.

She jumped up and rushed to the window. Slight fingers flung open the window and she swiftly pulled the screen out. The teen stuck her head out the window, struggling to find the source of the sound. She slowly crawled out of the window onto the roof that covered her front porch. Vibrant green eyes searched the surrounding houses until she caught sight of the one a few spots to her left. The string lights that had often decorated the backyard at Fourth of July and barbecue parties were lit up for some unknown reason.

She reached back into her room and grabbed the binoculars that sat on her nightstand. When she crawled back out, she pressed the binoculars to her face and focused in on the backyard. The moment she saw the four, from the ginger man to the cloaked girl, she froze. The binoculars dropped from her grip. They thudded onto the roof as she gasped out one word.

"Ruby?"


End file.
